Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>California Regulations
JaydensMommy 07:28 PM 11-05-2011
Where can I find the California Regulations? The ones that have specific info on what is allowed as far as equipment and all that??
Reply
sharlan 08:11 PM 11-05-2011
http://www.ccld.ca.gov/

You will find a lot of gray areas.
Reply
dave4him 12:20 AM 11-06-2011
That is California for you! Full of gray
Reply
Crystal 07:03 AM 11-06-2011
Is there something specific you want to know? We may be able to help.
Reply
JaydensMommy 08:19 AM 11-06-2011
So, there is nothing that tells you specifically the equipment that is allowed? I have heard on here that car seats are not allowed in the home, I take the one baby that I have out as soon as he gets here, but is the car seat not even supposed to be inside? Also, I've also heard on here babies can not be put in a playpen unless they are asleep. Where does it say all this??
Reply
sharlan 08:47 AM 11-06-2011
Section 1596.846 is added to the Health and Safety Code which states in part that a baby
walker shall not be kept or used on the premises of a Child Care Facilities. A baby walker is
defined as an article known as a “baby bouncer”, “walker jumper”, “baby walker” or any
similar article.

I cannot find anything specific to carseats or swings.
Reply
mom2many 09:36 AM 11-06-2011
Originally Posted by JaydensMommy:
So, there is nothing that tells you specifically the equipment that is allowed? I have heard on here that car seats are not allowed in the home, I take the one baby that I have out as soon as he gets here, but is the car seat not even supposed to be inside? Also, I've also heard on here babies can not be put in a playpen unless they are asleep. Where does it say all this??
I have been a licensed daycare provider for over 25 years in CA and I had never heard about car seats not being able to be stored on the premises or that playpens cannot be used for a baby to play in.

When I had an unannounced visit in January 2009, I had a playpen set up in the main living area in my home. I had it there, so I could closely monitor the infant napping. There was no one in it at the time of her visit, but I was told by the LPA at that time, that playpens were to be used strictly for sleeping. If they observed a provider changing out toys and keeping an infant in one during their visit, the provider would get cited for "Violating a Child's Personal Rights". According to her, "a child cannot be restrained in a playpen or in a high chair even with toys" and this falls under that criteria of being a Personal Rights issue. However, I could not find it anywhere in black & white spelling this out specifically...it's clearly "their interpretation of it" and falls within that "grey area" everyone eludes too.

During this same visit, I also had an infant car seat stored over in a far corner of this same room, b/c mom dropped off and dad picked up. It was never used during the day and was only in the house on rainy days. (My covered porch is small and I didn't want it to get damp from the rain.) She wrote me up for having it on my premises and I was cited. I contacted her mgr to appeal it and it was reversed. The mgr. said that is NOT a violation to have it on the premises as long as it is not being used during daycare hours and she completely understood why I had it there.

My issue now is that even during this exchange with not ONE, but TWO licensing individuals...NEITHER even explained why they are so concerned with having these at a daycare facility. I had NEVER heard of "Positional Asphyxiation" until it was brought to my attention on this forum. I find this extremely alarming that something something so "detrimentally serious" was never explained! In my ignorance, I chalked it up to the fact that it's against regs for us to use exersaucer's, bouncy seats, high chairs or play pens to "confine" a child and thus violating their personal rights and assumed they figured providers may use the infant car seat for this purpose as well.

I completed my 15 hrs of CA Health & Safety when I was first licensed and continue to take the CPR & First Aid courses...but NEVER has this subject been addressed!

I am extremely thankful for this forum, in that now having been educated on this, I can inform others as well.
Reply
KBCsMommy 11:07 AM 11-06-2011
Originally Posted by sharlan:
Section 1596.846 is added to the Health and Safety Code which states in part that a baby
walker shall not be kept or used on the premises of a Child Care Facilities. A baby walker is
defined as an article known as a “baby bouncer”, “walker jumper”, “baby walker” or any
similar article.

I cannot find anything specific to carseats or swings.
When I took the orientation in 2008, in the orientation handbook, it did say specifically no " baby swings", no "jumpers", no " walkers", and no "bouncers" can be kept in the daycare area. They even went so far to say that even if you had these items in your house and not in the daycare area, you could be cited.

But they never said anything about not having a carseat.

Even when I took the health and safety class in 2008 they reiterated the no walker, swing, jumpers, and bouncers. Never anything about the carseats.

And they did say no restraing in the highchair. That highchairs were only for eating.

Nothing about sleeping was ever discussed, only putting infants to sleep on their backs with no blankets or anything in the cribs. Nobody said anything about sleep or letting babies play in a playpen!

And then theres the latches and locks rule!!! I think they're not even sure what either is for or which one to use for what!!
Reply
sharlan 11:24 AM 11-06-2011
POLICY
Licensees can be required to provide toys, that the toys be safe as reflected in
Section 102417(d), and that the toys be age-appropriate (e.g., bicycles for infants are not
appropriate). It is a generally accepted practice to require toys at the prelicensing visit in
order to demonstrate readiness for operation.
Section 1596.846 is added to the Health and Safety Code which states in part that a baby
walker shall not be kept or used on the premises of a Child Care Facilities. A baby walker is
defined as an article known as a “baby bouncer”, “walker jumper”, “baby walker” or any
similar article.
[b][b]The above Health and Safety Code is not intended to prohibit the storage and use of a baby
walker in a provider’s own home for their own children. The intention is to prohibit the use
of a baby walker during the hours of operation as a child care home. Therefore, baby
walkers may be in a child care home, but they cannot be used by the children and they must
be stored in an area not accessible to children during the hours of operation as a child care
home.

Reply
sharlan 11:28 AM 11-06-2011
I called our local CCLD last month, swings are still legal.

This is my complaint with CA regulations. One person will post that such and such is against CA regulations. I read and reread and reread the Title 22 Regs and the health and safety codes. I can find nothing backing up what the person posted. I call our local CCLD and they will say yes or no. Other people will call their local CCLD and get a different answer. IMHO, CA has a lot of gray areas that are interpretated different ways by different analysts.
Reply
mom2many 11:41 AM 11-06-2011
Several years ago, the LPA I spoke to agreed it is difficult for CA providers to know what is okay and what is not, b/c there are continually lots of new baby items out on the market. For instance, when I was first licensed the soft fabric bouncy seats didn't exist and swings were okay to use. She recommended contacting the agency to ask about specific things and suggested sending a picture of an item and getting the okay prior to purchasing things.
Reply
JaydensMommy 06:55 AM 11-07-2011
Thanks everyone, I really thought I was missing something. I thought there was an actual set of regulations that clearly stated these things. And I also learned about positional asphyxia from here. So never again will I let a baby sleep in a swing or car seat, something I did a lot with my own son.
Reply
mom2many 07:26 AM 11-07-2011
Originally Posted by sharlan:
I called our local CCLD last month, swings are still legal.

This is my complaint with CA regulations. One person will post that such and such is against CA regulations. I read and reread and reread the Title 22 Regs and the health and safety codes. I can find nothing backing up what the person posted. I call our local CCLD and they will say yes or no. Other people will call their local CCLD and get a different answer. IMHO, CA has a lot of gray areas that are interpretated different ways by different analysts.
I so agree. Title 22 Regs on the Health and Safety are vague and leave lots of room for interpretation for each analyst & the different counties as well.

I'm wondering if swings are legal as long as the child is NOT sleeping in it. I don't have any infants right now using one nor do I even one a swing...but I plan to call my local CCLD to inquire about using one, if and when I do.
Reply
Tags:california - regulations
Reply Up